CHICAGO: Though there are only a handful of them among thousands of delegates, the “Uncommitted Movement” delegates at the Democratic National Convention are among the most vocal.
The delegates plan to voice their discontent with the war in Gaza at the party’s convention this week in Chicago, during which Vice President Kamala Harris will formally accept the Democratic Party’s nomination in the close race for the White House.
The 30 “Uncommitted Movement” delegates hail from eight different US states and claim to represent some 700,000 voters.
Though they welcomed the news of President Joe Biden dropping out of the race on July 21, they have met Harris’s subsequent ascension with caution and skepticism.
“The party needed change,” Minnesota delegate Asma Mohammed told AFP. “I don’t feel sad about someone who has unapologetically supported a genocidal regime in Israel.”
Mohammed came to Chicago hoping to see a renewed perspective within her party, but she said she is disappointed that the convention has no pro-Palestinian voices on the speaker list.
“I know she’s (Harris) more empathetic than Joe Biden, I’ve seen that,” Mohammed said. “But those words are not enough. That needs to be followed by policy.”
The Uncommitted Movement advocated for adding Tanya Hajj-Hassan to the speaker list, wanting the thousands of attendees to hear from a doctor who has treated victims of the conflict between Israel and militant group Hamas in Gaza.
However, all that has been permitted at the event so far is a panel at the nearby McCormick Center, outside the main venue. During the panel, the pediatrician described the horrors of war, bringing the audience to tears.
Among the speakers slated for the DNC are some relatives of the 251 hostages taken by Hamas on Oct. 7 when it sparked the conflict by attacking Israel, which also left 1,199 dead, according to an AFP tally based on official data.
“Why does it have to be one or the other?” asked Mohammed, who emphasized that more than 40,000 people have died in Gaza from Israel’s retaliation, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry.
For her, there is room to listen to both sides.
Jacob Schonberger, a 17-year-old delegate representing the state of Connecticut, is not part of the “Uncommitted Movement” but shares the sentiment. He arrived at the convention wearing buttons with slogans in support of Israel.
“I think it should be leadership’s decision... I have my personal beliefs, but I think that it’s important to have both sides,” he said.
In addition to the “Uncommitted Movement,” protests fomented outside the United Center, the venue for the convention, where hundreds of people chanted “Free Palestine!“
Inside the arena, some delegates covered their mouths as Biden gave his speech Monday night, a gesture made in protest of his response to the war in Gaza.
“We wanted to send the message that we don’t agree with what Biden has been doing,” said Sabrene Odeh, a delegate from Washington state.
While the DNC is underway, Biden’s Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, is on a tour of the Middle East in a new attempt to secure a truce between Israel and Hamas.
Biden acknowledged the discontent with the death toll in Gaza during his speech Monday night.
That did not excite Yaz Kader, another Washington delegate.
“The fact is, he has been a president that has supported a genocide that Israel is committing,” he said.
Pro-Palestine DNC delegates welcome Biden’s exit but side-eye Harris
https://arab.news/8ys59
Pro-Palestine DNC delegates welcome Biden’s exit but side-eye Harris
Asylum applications drop to 40-year low in Sweden
- Asylum seekers and their family members accounted for just 6 percent of the total, compared with 31 percent in 2018, when total immigration was 133,000
STOCKHOLM: The number of people applying for asylum in Sweden dropped by 30 percent in 2025 to the lowest level since 1985, with the right-of-center government saying it planned to further tighten rules this year ahead of an election in September.
The ruling minority coalition, which is supported by the anti-immigration Sweden Democrats, has made cutting the number of asylum seekers a key policy platform since taking power in 2022. It blames a surge in gang crime on decades of loose asylum laws and failed integration measures under previous Social Democrat-led governments.
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The Swedish government has cracked down on asylum seekers, made it more difficult to gain residency and citizenship, and introduced financial incentives for immigrants to leave the country.
“The change is not just about numbers in terms of lower immigration, it’s also about the way that’s made up, who is coming to Sweden with the proportion from asylum at a record low,” said Immigration Minister Johan Forssell.
The number of immigrants, excluding refugees from Ukraine, fell to 79,684 last year from 82,857 in 2024, according to figures from the Migration Board.
Asylum seekers and their family members accounted for just 6 percent of the total, compared with 31 percent in 2018, when total immigration was 133,000.
The number of people either voluntarily returning to another country or being expelled by authorities was also up.
“This is an area which is a high priority for us,” Forssell said.
The government has cracked down on asylum seekers, made it more difficult to gain residency and citizenship, and introduced financial incentives for immigrants to leave the country since it came to power.
Forssell said the government planned to further tighten regulations in the coming year, including a new law to increase the number of returnees and stricter citizenship rules, among other measures.
Swedes will vote in what is expected to be a tight general election in September.
Meanwhile, Denmark’s strict immigration policies drove asylum admissions to a historic low in 2025, with 839 requests granted by the end of November, the government said.
“It is absolutely critical that as few foreigners as possible come to Denmark and obtain asylum. My main priority is to limit the influx of refugees,” said Immigration Minister Rasmus Stoklund in a press release.
According to the ministry, “there have been very few years when the annual total remained below 1,000 ... 2025 will be a year with a historically low number of residence permits granted on asylum grounds.”
Denmark registered 1,835 asylum requests by November 2025.
The country’s immigration approach has been influenced by far-right parties for more than 20 years, and Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, leader of the Social Democrats, has pursued a “zero refugee” policy since taking office in 2019.
Copenhagen has, over the years, implemented a slew of initiatives to discourage migrants and make Danish citizenship harder to obtain.
In 2024, the country of 6 million people accepted some 860 of the 2,333 asylum requests lodged that year.
